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Media Mentioned in this Week’s Episode

Who said this and in what movie? “You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: All I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.”

Prize: Signed Amanda Tapping Print

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Promos:

TV News:

We’re just a little over a week away from the premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. So what do you need to know before tuning in?

A few things, actually, though the series will likely work just fine as a fun, action-procedural for non-comic fans. But for those who want to know, there’s a lot to know.

For one thing, the concept brings quite a bit of history from the Marvel-verse — not to mention a half-dozen movies over the past several years.

Plus there’s the wildcard Joss Whedon factor, and what we can glean from his previous projects. From Buffy, to Firefly, they all give us some hints on what to expect from Marvel’s first foray onto the small screen.

So go ahead and set your DVR for the September 24 premiere on ABC at 7 p.m. (Central) and check out our primer below.

THE FLASH IS CAST FOR ARROW, EPISODES SET FOR APPEARANCES AND BACKDOOR PILOT

We told you back in July that The CW had announced that The Flash would be appearing in the new season of Arrow and that a backdoor pilot (an episode of an existing show that could be considered a pilot for a spinoff show) was being planned that would hopefully result in the pickup of a new series.

That role has now been cast, andTHR reports that it’s Grant Gustin who’ll be the new Barry Allen/Flash. We also now know that he’ll be appearing in three episodes of Arrow, numbers 8, 9, and 20, and that the last will be the backdoor pilot, which won’t air until spring.

All three Flash episodes will be written by Arrow co-creatorsGreg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and DC Entertainment‘s Geoff Johns— a writer/consultant on Arrow.

In Arrow, Barry Allen/Flash will be a Central City assistant police forensic investigator who comes to Starling City as part of an investigation. The big mystery for Arrow and Flash fans will be: will Flash have superpowers? I mean, come on, he’s The Flash. In the notably superpower-free zone of The CW’s Arrow, how exactly does one acquire super speed? According to Kreisberg, “There will be extraordinary events in the world and the characters will react in the same way.” Hoookay. The mind reels. We shall see.

We’ll definitely keep you posted.

‘The Walking Dead’ Spinoff Series In The Works At AMC

Zombies are taking over AMC. The network announced plans for a new “The Walking Dead” spinoff series set in the same universe as the current hit zombie apocalypse drama.

The companion series has “Walking Dead” producer Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert on board as executive producers with a 2015 premiere target date.

“Building on the success of the most popular show on television for adults 18-49 is literally a no-brainer,” Charlie Collier, AMC’s president and general manager, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Robert, Gale and Dave again as we develop an entirely new story and cast of characters. It’s a big world and we can’t wait to give fans another unforgettable view of the zombie apocalypse.”

Kirkman is also the co-creator and writer of the comic book.

“After 10 years of writing the comic book series and being so close to the debut of our fourth, and in my opinion, best season of the TV series, I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of ‘The Walking Dead’ universe,” Kirkman said in a statement. “The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing.”

Movie News:

BEHOLD THE FIRST TRAILER FOR DIVERGENT

We reported on the teaser trailer for Divergent last Thursday, but last night during the MTV Video Music Awards we were finally treated to the full trailer and it was just as awesome as we had hoped. There was a lot more Jeanine (Kate Winslet) than I thought there would be, but I’m not complaining! Check it out below!

Universal Pictures today announced that “Jurassic Park 4″ has been retitled Jurassic World and that the film will be released in 3D on Friday, June 12, 2015.

Steven Spielberg returns to produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking “Jurassic Park” series. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a draft of the screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley join the team as fellow producers.

Roland Emmerich has announced plans to reboot the Stargate franchise. During a recent interview with Digital Spy, the German film director revealed that he has met with MGM, the studio behind the original Stargate movie, and things are moving forward. The movie could even serve as the launching pad for a new trilogy.

“We went to MGM, who has the rights, and proposed to them to do a sequel, but as a reboot … and reboot it as a movie and then do three parts, and that’s what we’re doing right now,” said Emmerich. “Pretty soon we’ll have to look for a writer and start.”

He has already nixed the idea of actors James Spader and Kurt Russell reprising their roles as Colonel Jack O’Neil and Dr. Daniel Jackson, respectively. “The actors look totally different,” he said. “It would not work.”

Stargate wasn’t a major box office success when it hit theaters in 1994. It developed a cult following and spawned three television spin-offs and a cartoon. Emmerich directed the original film, which he wrote with Dean Devlin. The plot revolves around an artifact that allows humans to travel to distant galaxies.

Stargate isn’t the only sci-fi film Emmerich is reaching back for. He is also in the midst of creating the first half of a two-part sequel for 1996’s Independence Day. He recently said that although Will Smith wasn’t initially interested in joining the film, the two of them may be linking up after all if forthcoming meetings are productive.

Who would you like to see star in the Stargate reboot?

TWIST:

NSA director modeled top secret war room to look like the bridge of Star Trek’s Enterprise

The director of one of America’s largest spy agencies is catching flack for once working from a war room built with American tax dollars to mimic a fantastical space ship.

Keith Alexander heads up the National Security Agency and in addition to a lot on controversial revelations about his organization, a recent profile of the top spy says that when he ran the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command, it was from the captain’s chair of the starship USS Enterprise.

Specifically, from the Enterprise of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. And the eccentric director known as ‘a cowboy’ reportedly used the odd room to woo lawmakers and other important officials who coveted the chance to play captain.

Though it focuses a great deal on issues like the PRISM program uncovered by Ed Snowden’s major information leak, a profile of Alexander in Foreign Policy couldn’t help but include details about his old war room in Fort Belvoir.

Designed by a Hollywood set designer to mimic the famous ship’s bridge, Alexander’s base of operations in the Fairfax County, Virginia Army base was ‘complete with chrome panels, computer stations, a huge TV monitor on the forward wall,’ according to the profile.

The television displayed sensitive national security photos and information, but was so placed to look like the all-important Enterprise bridge screen on which the comings and goings of outer space would be displayed.

There were even sound effects.

Just like in the Star Trek series, the doors to the so-called Information Dominance Center war room made a ‘whoosh’ noise as they opened.

‘Though it’s no surprise from a man described as ‘a techno-spy since the beginning of his military career,’ an audio component could seem excessive to some since tax dollars paid for the facility.

Instead of Vulcans and Klingons, high ranking government officials stepped on and off Alexander’s bridge.

Sci Fi 5 @ 5

The top 5 weirdest inventions predicted in Science Fiction

5. Vibratory Mass Penetrators

Included on this list partly because of its amazing function and partly because of it’s hilariously suggestive name, the mass penetrator was actually a device that allowed people to walk through rock. Mentioned by Harry Harrison in Rock Diver and used in the story by a prospector, the steel box attached to a belt and vibrated the wearer in a way that allowed him to move through solid matter.

4. Empathy Box

With the technology we have now, filmmakers need to work extremely hard, using complex camera and acting techniques, to make us feel what the characters in the film feel. But that’s not a problem if you have an empathy box. First appearing in Phillip K Dick’s The Little Black Box, this deviceattached to a television set. When both handles were gripped, the viewer would feel everything the character they were watching felt. In Dick’s story, the device became so popular it spawned a new religion.

3. Living Advertising

Sometimes it seems like a company trains all their employees to act the same way, almost as if they’re all the same person. In The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, they literally are. In an effort to create a uniform experience for every customer, employees go through months of psycho-conditioning and plastic surgery until they become the living embodiment of the company mascot. Imagine going to buy a Monopoly game and being served by someone who not only looked like, but also acted in strict accordance with the personality of the Monopoly mascot Rich Uncle Pennybags.

2. Chairdogs

Mentioned in Frank Herbert’s The Tactful Saboteur, certain animals have been genetically modified to serve human needs. Through this modification comes the “chairdog,” a dog that’s been altered to resemble and function like a chair. The dog retains sentience, so it can come when summoned and can even sense your stress and massage you if it thinks you need it. If you are standing and the dog thinks you might need a rest, it will come and softly nudge you in the back of the leg until you take a load off.

1. Spray-On Clothing

Spray-on clothing is one of the more popular futurist fantasies. In Galactic Pot-Healer, Philip K. Dick talks about foam sprayed directly onto the body that would quickly dry and form disposable clothing. In Return From The Stars, Stanislaw Lem talks about a hotel stocked with cans upon cans of sprayable socks, suits, bathrobes, and dresses allowing women to wear unique dresses every day. Jack Vance mentioned a green pulp that would spray on wet and dry into velvet in his novel Abercrombie Station. It makes you wonder: If so many science fiction writers were convinced this was the future, why don’t we have it?

1 Comment

Do we really need to revisit Stargate, ID4 or Jurassic Park ? Seems like flogging a dead horse to me, but who the hell am I kidding of course I’ll go see them. Stargate, like you guys said, it has been a long time since it’s cinema release so i can understand a reboot. However, the other 2…really? ID4 2 – Does America want to go find the aliens and start another war? JW – The studios want to outshine the upcoming “Walking with Dinosaurs” film i read about? Just hope the dinosaurs are better than the ones in Terra Nova (my god they were bad).

I’m looking forward to the new Robocop (and yes I know I already bagged out reboots). This imagining looks like it’s going for a more drama/gritty take. The visuals look very impressive indeed. And I think I’m most excitied about seeing the new ED-209.

I saw the trailer for that Divergence, and I agree with (i think it was Miles) on how it just reminded me of The Hunger Games (another film i’m looking forward to).

Have caught up with – Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox, which I quite enjoyed.

and steadily watch Beware the Batman and the new Avengers Assemble animated series. Although they are animated, the ongoing story lines aren’t dumbed down too much for small kids. Very similar to The Green Lanterns Animated Series and Young Justice were. If you get a change to watch them I highly suggest it.

Heard about the new Gotham series they’re doing. Meh, they’d have to convince me to watch that. Gotham with no Batman. If that’s the case the criminals can’t be too over the top either, just seems like they’re jumping on the Arrow band wagon, basing them all in reality.